What is a Civil Rights Attorney?

Civil rights attorneys help people who are dealing with civil rights violations. They may be involved in both criminal and civil cases. Generally, they become involved if discrimination of some kind is suspected or if a crime is suspected of being a hate crime

A civil rights attorney is a lawyer who specializes in dealing with cases that involve civil and human rights. These cases are often extremely complicated and require a lot of knowledge of the specifics of anti-discrimination law.

The Civil Rights Act protects from discrimination on basis of color, sex, age, religion or national origin. Some jurisdictions also protect individuals based on sexual orientation. However, civil rights violations are often hard to prove. The evidence tends to be circumstantial and subtle and, even then, it is not uncommon for cases to be dismissed. Discrimination is seldom blatant and often those who perpetrate it have a good excuse handy.

Civil rights lawyers may also help in situations where individuals are victims of government action. Examples would be free speech violation or unwarranted search and seizure. Another example would be unreasonable barriers affecting the right to vote.

They can also help with other forms of discrimination such as harassment or fair housing. In some cases, they may help with civil suits against a landlord or employer. Most take these on on a contingency basis. They are also commonly involved if it is suspected a crime may qualify as a hate crime and in crimes such as human trafficking.

A civil rights lawyer is an expert in the specifics of the constitution and also in any legal matters affecting the locality in which they work. Because of the complexities of cases and the wide variety of cases that can occur, they tend to be specialists.